Robert Baron, director of marketing at the $40 million Technicolor Federal Credit Union in Burbank, Calif., was adjudged the winner of CO-OP THINK Prize 13 for his idea for a virtual teller system.

The top prize was $10,000 and the winner was chosen from among three finalists by judges, online voters and attendees of the THINK 13 conference in Chicago, which concluded with a gala on Thursday night at the Museum of Science and Industry.

Baron’s business plan described a virtual teller system that would allow members to video-conference with their credit union from a computer or mobile device.

The other two finalists were Andree Kirk, online services administrator at the $832 million San Francisco FCU for her proposed shared member application platform and Deborah Larson, branch manager for the $58 million Dakota Plains Credit Union in Enderlin, N.C., for a proposed switch kit app.

“Our goal with the CO-OP THINK Prize is to promote and inspire creative thinking on industry issues, and each of the three final business plans were wonderful displays of that,” said Stan Hollen, president/CEO of CO-OP in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.